Portable electric head lamp



May 4, 1937. w. F. KOEPKE 2,079,075

PORTABLE ELECTRIC HEAD LAMP Filed March 5, 1936 WILL AM 12K EPKE,

Patented May 4, 1937 2,079,075 PORTABLE ELECTRIC HEAD LAMP William F. Koepke, New York, N. Y., assignor of glilty per cent to Adolph Berg, New York,

Application March 5, 1936, Serial No. 67,217

1 Claim. (Cl. 240-59) This invention relates generally to electric The body of the plug may be grooved to coact lamps and more particularly to portable electric with the lug or protuberance 38 on the socket 2 2 head lamps. so as to polarize the plug, that is, the plug can An object of the present invention is to proonly be inserted in such fashion that the outer vide an electric lamp that can readily be mounted casing of the battery and the outer casing 31 of on and carried on the forehead of the user, leav-= the lamp are at the same polarity to prevent acciing his hands free. dental short circuiting.

Another object is to provide a reflector for The lamp casing includes a flat base portion such a lamp with means for readily adjusting 35 and end walls 36, all formed of insulating the position of the reflector and lamp bulb so as material. The side walls 31 are formed of sheet 10 to direct the glare of the bulb in any desired metal as well. as the top wall 38 which is provided direction without moving the head and so as to with an opening 39.

move the reflector and bulb out of the way of Rotatably or tiltably mounted between the end obstructions. walls 36 is a metal barrel shaped member Ml.

A further object is to provide such. a lamp with This barrel member is fixed to metal shafts M 15 means for holding the reflector and lamp bulb in and 42 which are journalled in metal bearings 43 adjusted position. and 44, respectively. A spiral spring 45 on the A still further object is to provide such an elecshaft 4! with one end pressing against the end trio lamp that is simple in construction, inexof the barrel holds the barrel in moved or adjust- 0 pensive to manufacture, compact and convenient ed position. The barrel is closed at one end by in use. a metal wall 45. The opposite end of the barrel Other objects and advantages of the improved is closed by an insulating disk or wall ll. A metal electric lamp will be apparent from the followcontact arm 48 is fixed to the inner side of the ing description thereof taken in connection with insulating disk Al by means of the shaft M which the accompanying drawing in which-- extends through the disk. The barrel is fixed to Figure 1 is-a front view of the improved lamp the shaft 4| by the screws 49 and plate 49'. and associated parts. Figure 2 is a vertical sec- The conductors 34 extend into the interior of tion of the lamp without the casing. Figure 3 the lamp casing through an opening 50 in one is an end view partly in section. Figure 4 is a of the end walls 36. One of these conductors is 3 plan view of the socket. Figure 5 is a sectional connected to a screw 52 secured in the bushing 43. view of the socket on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Secured to the inner top side of the base is Figure 6 is a section view of a part of the socket a metal conducting strip or plate 53, below the on the line 66 oi Fig. 4. shaft 42.

The improved electric lamp is battery oper- The top wall of the barrel is provided with an 35 ated and for this purpose I provide a cylindrical opening and fastened to the edge of this opening 35 metal battery casing 20 in which are encased batis a screw threaded socket member 54 and formed teries 2i. One end of the casing is closed by a integrally with this socket 54 and concentrically screw threaded cap 22. The opposite end of the thereof is another smaller socket member 55 havcasing has a screw threaded metal cap or ring ing a central opening communicating with the 23. An insulating socket 24 is carried by the interior of the barrel and being positioned di- 40 cap 23 and has one of its metal contacts 25 rectly above and in alignment with the contact extending inwardly of the battery casing and in arm 48. engagement with a metal post 26 carried at the An ordinary miniature incandescent lamp bulb center of the socket body. The other contact 2'! 56 is screwed into the socket 55 with its central of the socket is electrically connected to the metal terminal extending through the opening in said 5 cap 23 by means of a plate 28 fixed to the inner socket and in engagement with the contact arm side of the cap 23. A spiral spring 29 may be 48. The other contact terminal of the lamp bulb used to keep the parts in engagement. A lug is in electrical conductive relationship with the or protuberance 30 may be formed on the face metal barrel through the metal lamp socket 55 of the socket. and intermediate parts. 50

An ordinary electrical plug 3|, having the usual A switch is interposed between the contact strip prong contacts 32 in engagement with the socket or plate 53 and the shaft 42 to close the circuit contacts through the socket openings 33, conducts at this point. This switch comprises a. disk body the battery current by means of the conductors portion 51 formed with a slot in its periphery. A 34 to the lamp. yoke 58 is swingably mounted on the shaft 42 with its arms outside of the disk 51. A pin 59 is positioned inwardly and centrally of the yoke with one end positioned in the slot in the disk 51 and its other end in an opening in the cross piece of the yoke. A spiral spring 6| surrounds the pin, with its upper convolution pressed against-a shoulder on the pin and its other end seated on the cross piece of the yoke. This spring furnishes a snap action to the movement of the yoke and holds the switch in on or oil position. A lever or handle 60 is formed integrally with the disk 51 and extends exteriorly of the casing for the lamp. The yoke is so positioned that its cross piece is adapted to be moved into contact with the contact strip or plate 53. When the lever 60 is moved, the pin 59 is moved by the wall of the slot on the disk. The movement of the pin first compresses the spring BI and when the pin reaches its dead center position, the spring expands and snaps the yoke into engagement or disengagement with the strip 53. In Fig. 3, the lower portion of the strip 53 is engaging yoke 58. A stop member 62 may be fixed to the top of the base to limit the of! swing of the yoke 58.

A reflector 63 is removably secured to the larger socket 54 in the barrel and protrudes through the aligned openings in the top walls of the barrel and lamp casing to the exterior of said casing. A lens is supported in the outer end of the refiector.

The circuit is completed from the batteries to the lamp bulb through the following instrumentalities: the central terminal of the batteries, socket post 26, socket contact 25, one of the plug prongs 32 and attached conductor 34, screw 52,

bushing 43, metal shaft 4|, contact arm 48, central terminal of the lamp bulb 56, lamp bulb 56, side terminal of lamp bulb 56, socket 55, barrel 40, wall 46, shaft 42, switch 51, contact plate 53 and attached conductor 34, attached plug prong 5 base portion 35 placed against his forehead. An

elastic band 64 is secured in any suitable manner to the end walls 36 and is placed around the head so as to keep the lamp casing securely in position.

The connected battery casing 20 may be placed in the pocket. The circuit is closed by moving the switch handle 50. The hands of the user are then free to carry on other necessary work.

If the user of the lamp is working in close quarters and the protruding reflector is in the way, such reflector may be swung upwardly and downwardly thus reducing the overall width of the device and affording more room. The direction of the glare of the lamp may also be changed without the necessity of moving the head by simply swinging the reflector. The spiral spring 45 pressing against the barrel holds the reflector and bulb in adjusted position.

A spare lamp 65 may be carried in the inside of the cap 23 for emergency purposes if desired.

I claim:

A portable electric head lamp comprising in combination a cylindrical metal casing, a battery in said casing, a removable metal cap on one end of the battery casing, a socket carried by said cap, a pair of contacts on said socket extending inwardly of the casing, one of said contacts being electrically connected to one terminal of the battery, the other of said contacts being electrically connected with the metal cap, a plug mounted on said socket and having its prongs in electrical connection with the contacts of the socket, a lamp casing having a fiat base portion, end and side walls and a top wall having an opening therein, shafts journalled in the end walls of said lamp casing, a metal barrel member fixed to said shafts, a pair of concentrically arranged socket members carried by said barrel, a

contact arm carried interiorly of the barrel, a lamp bulb in the inner socket member of the barrel having its central terminal in engagement with the contact arm, the other terminal of said bulb being in engagement with the wall of the socket, a lamp reflector removaby mounted in the outer socket oi the barrel and extending exteriorly of the lamp casing, a conductor electrically connecting one of said plug prongs with the contact arm in the barrel, a contact plate mounted on the base portion, another conductor electrically connecting the other of said plug prongs with the latter contact plate, and switching mechanism carried by the lamp casing for placing the metal barrel in electrically conductive relationship with the latter contact plate, said switching mechanism including a movable yoke member adapted to be moved into engagement with the contact plate, a handle protruding exteriorly of the lamp casing for actuating said yoke member.

WILLIAM F. KOEPKE. 

